Here's what the longest-serving member of the International Olympic Committee had to say.
The IOC's longest-serving member, former Canadian swimmer Dick Pound, told the Associated Press that, if the region isn't deemed safe by May, it's more likely that the Olympics would be cancelled, rather than postponed or moved.
"In and around that time [late May], I'd say folks are going to have to ask: 'Is this under sufficient control that?'" he said. However, for now, Pound encouraged athletes to continue training as though the Games will go forward as planned."As far as we all know, you're going to be in Tokyo. All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual.
"You just don't postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics," he explained to the AP."There's so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and, and television seasons. You can't just say, 'We'll do it in October.'" Similarly, moving the Games to another city would be nearly impossible"because there are few places in the world that could think of gearing up facilities in that short time to put something on.
At this point, it's very much a waiting game to see what happens with the coronavirus and how it continues to affect travel to and from Asia. It's worth noting that the most recent Summer Olympics did go ahead despite a virus outbreak; in 2016, similar questions were raised about the Rio Olympics due to the Zika virus, but the competition ultimately went ahead. If Pound is correct, though, there's only a couple of months left before a decision will have to be made.
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